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Harbaugh wasn’t thrilled with the work of the replacement officials during the 49ers‘ 20-9 loss to the Texans, and he struggled to bite his tongue in his postgame comments.

There were a series of questionable calls, and one call in particular that the officiating crew acknowledged was wrong, according to Harbaugh. The Texans were called for a facemask penalty on 49ers running back LaMichael James with about 15 seconds left in the first half. The officials let the remaining time tick off the clock, even though a half cannot end on a defensive penalty.

Harbaugh said he had to pop some aspirin after the game. Too much screaming, he explained.

“Some crazy, wild calls,” he said. “Were they accurate? Weren’t they? We’ll see. I have a headache, though. I have a darn headache. A lot of them didn’t seem like they were in the ballpark.”

Near the beginning of his news conference, Harbaugh said there were “things I’ve been instructed not to comment on. So don’t even ask me.”

Smith takes hits: Quarterback Alex Smith completed four of five passes for 36 yards on the 49ers’ first series, which resulted in a field goal. Smith, however, absorbed quite a bit of punishment for his efforts.

He was sacked twice on the drive and took a big hit as he delivered his first throw. Smith said he was to blame for some of the protection issues.

“Most of it was self-inflicted by me,” Smith said. “The O-line played good. First play was a miscommunication with me and the other 10 guys in the huddle, and that resulted in a hit.”

Briefly:Parys Haralson and Eric Bakhtiari started at outside linebacker because of injuries to Aldon Smith (hip) and Ahmad Brooks (undisclosed), who did not make the trip. Bakhtiari led the team in tackles (seven) for the second straight week. … Cornerback Perrish Cox (undisclosed), tight end Delanie Walker (knee), linebacker Cam Johnson (knee) and wide receiver Joe Hastings (leg) did not travel.